Improvement in rotary steam-ewgines



anta s HAMILTON, OF BUSI-INELL, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 87,928, dated .Ma/rch 16,- 1869.

IIEPROVEMENT IN ROTARY STEAM-ENGINES.

The Schedule referred td in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all lwl'umi, it may concern:

Be it known that I, S. H. HAMmroN, of Bushnell, in the county ofMcDonough, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Ro tary Engines; and AI do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full andexact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters 4of reference markedthereon.

Figure l is a side elevation of my improved engine, showing thepiston-wheel, the pistons, the cam-shaped groove, and the steam-conduit,or passage, through wlhih the pistons pass, and in which the steam isap- D le Figure 2 is a front elevation, showing the pistonwheel, an'end, or sectional view of the steam-passage, the cam-disk, and theframe.

Gor'respondin g letters represent corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to an improvement in rotary steam-engines and Itconsists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of its parts,as will be more fully described hereinafter. 4

A, in the drawings, represents the frame ofthe engine, which may heconstructed as shown in the drawings, or of any other suitable forni, itbeing provided with suitable bearings for the .reception of the shaft ofthe revolving, or piston wheel, and with cross-bars, as shown at A', forsecuring in position the steam-passage, or conduit. These bars may be acomponent part of the frame, as shownin the drawings, or they maybeseparate pieces, and bolted to the sides of said frame.

B represents the Shad upon which the piston-wheel is mounted, and towhich it is to be firmly keyed, or otherwise secured. This shaft is tohave journals formed upon it, to rest in the boxes formed in the upperportions of the iiame. One or both ends of this shaft may extend beyondthe frame,- and may hare upon it pulleys for the reception of belts withwhich to transmit the power of the engine; or gearwheels may be used forthat purpose; or, as is apparent, such devices, or either of them, maybe placed upon the shalt, between the upghtportions of the frame.

O represents a piston-Wheel, which is secured to shaft B, and has aseries of arms, or spokes radiating from its hub, to which, at anysuitable distance from such hub, there is cast, or otherwise secured, aring for the reception and guidance of the inner rounded ends of thepistons D D. To thel outer ends of the arms of this wheel there isattached a rim, which forms the periphery of said wheel, and which hasformed in it longitudinal slots, for the reception of the pistons, uponwhich the steam acts in propelling the engine. This wheel is to beturned smooth upon its periphery, for the purpose of causing it to titproperly upon the edges of. the curved steam-conduit, and .thus preventthe escape of steam at that point.

' D D represent sliding pistons, which are to be inserted into thegrooves formed in the periphery of wheel C, so that their outer attenedend shall work easily therein, while their inner rounded ends work inthe holes formed in the interior rim, or ring of said wheel. Thoseportions of these pistons which are outside of their shanks, or roundedportion, are to be rectangular, or of any other suitable form, and aremade to fit the slots in the piston-wheel, and also to fit the recessformed in the steam-conduit, through which they pass, and may be packed,as shown in iig. 3, by inserting strips of any suitable material, suchas brass or other composition in their edges and ends, and allowingsteain to pass behind such packing-strips, thus keeping them in contactwith such conduite To the inner edges of the rectangular portions ofrthese pistons, or to that edge which is nearest the caindisk, there areto be attached friction-rollers, which are to project from such pistonsfor a distance equal to the depth of the groove in said disk. Ilheserollers are for the purpose of traversing the cam-shaped groove, andthus giving the proper motion to the piston, which consists in causingthem to protrude beyond the periphery of the pistou-wheel, soon aderthey enter the steam-conduit, a distance suiiic-ient to cause theirouter ends to work steam-tight against the surface ofthe recess in suchconduit.

E E represent the rollers above referred to, which are to be placed uponan axle, or pivot which passes through the piston, and projects from theside thereof` for that purpose.

F represents a disk, of metal, which may have upon its lower portion aange or feet for securing it to the cross-bar of the frame, ,or it maybe securedthereto in any other suitable manner. Within that face of thisdisk which is nearest the piston-wheel,there is to be formed acam-shaped groove, for the reception of the rollers, which are securedto the piston as above described.

The office of this cam-groove is lto give motion 'to the pistons, andcause them to be projected beyond the wheel at the proper time toreceive the force of the steam while they are passing through theconduit G, and to bewithdrawn at the proper time to permit them to passthe abutments at the end of such conduit.

Gr represents a conduit, or passage, having a groove in which thepistons pass, and within which they receive the pressure of the steam.This conduit, or passage, consists ot' a piece of metal, which may besecured in position by being bolted to the frame of the engine. It is tobe in the form of a segment of a cir'- cle, which may extend for anydesired distance around the wheel C, and is to be provided with caps ateach of its ends when it is desirable to provide for running the enginein both directions; but when it is constructed for running in only onedirection, it is to be constructed as shown in fig. 1 of the drawings.The caps upon the ends of this conduit are to be held on by screws, andthey serve as abutments for the steam to press against,exhaust-apertures being provided, as shown at a, in fig. 1, in case theengine is .made re versible.

By referring to iig. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that'the groovein/this conduit is to be of the same form as the end of the piston, andthat it may be provided with recesses for the reception ofpacking-strips,

to be pressed out with steam, as in thepiston itself, and it isapparent, thatin the event of its becoming necessary, such provision maybe made for packing the edges of this conduit which come in contactwithl the periphery of the piston-wheel.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. Theconstruction of the conduit G, substantially as shown and described.

2.1The construction of the piston-,Wheel C, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3: The combination of the pisto'rbwheel and the steam-conduit, when theconduit is constructed su b stautially in the manner shown anddescribed.

4. The arrangement of the piston-wheel C, pistons D, and cam-wheel, ordisk F, substantially as shown and described. l

5. The arrangement of the rollers which control the movement of thepiston upon one side of such pistons, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

S. H. HAMILTON.

Witnesses:

E. A. PAINE, D. P. HoLLoWAY.

